Federal Republic of Alkara
This country is a part of Altverse. Alkara, officially the Federal Republic of Alkara, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east, Belarus to the south, Finland to the north, and the Baltic Socialist Republic to the west. It's capital is Nadezhdagrad, which is also sometimes referred to as Saint Petersburg or Leningrad. The territory that makes up modern-day Alkara historically has been invaded by many different nations, first by Sweden then by Poland. However, Alkara managed to remain an independent kingdom during this time. In the 18th century, the territory was invaded and conquered by the Russian Empire, declaring it to be the governate of Saint Petersburg and renaming the Alkaran capital to the same name. In 1914 it was again renamed to Petrograd. During the Russian Revolution, Alkara declared independence first as the People's Republic of Alkara, later renamed the Alkaran Soviet Socialist Republic. The capital of Alkara was renamed to Leningrad at this time. Alkara later became a founding republic of the Soviet Union. Alkara's current borders were shaped after the Winter War, during which the Soviet Union annexed Finnish border territories, incorporating some of them to Alkara. During World War 2 the nation and it's territories were devastated by the German invasion. Alkara lost nearly a quarter of it's population during World War 2. In post-war years Alkara was rebuilt. Alkara declared independence from the Soviet Union on August 20th, 1991. The first free elections in Alkara took place soon afterwards, which saw the Alkaran Communist Party lose a majority of their seats to opposition parties. These opposition parties led massive reforms, freeing Alkara's economy from state control and allowing the markets to function largely unfettered. However, within several years several large corporations began dominating Alkara's economy. A growing left-wing movement at the time convinced the government to start attempting to regulate these corporations. In response, the corporations recruited former Alkaran General Pavel Niyazov to form and fund a private army comprised of mostly Alkaran veterans from the Soviet war in Afghanistan. This private army was called the Alkaran Force for Liberty. In 1999, the government proposed a fresh set of regulations on the corporations. In response to this, the Alkaran Force for Liberty staged a coup d'état, removing the Premier of Alkara at the tim from power and installing Pavel Niyazov as the ruler. Alkara has since been described as a military dictatorship. It's elections are often described by human rights groups as merely for show, and human rights groups have regularly condemned violent repression of political opponents. Democracy Index has continually listed Alkara the lowest in Europe, giving it a score comparable to Turkmenistan. It also has a similar rating in the Press Freedom Index, continually ranking among the countries with the lowest press freedom. More than 65% of Alkara's population lives in urban areas. Ethnic Alkarans comprise 85% of the population, with there being a sizable minority of ethnic Russians living in Alkara. The country only has one official language, Alkaran. Though the Constitution of Alkara doesn't specify any religion, the main religious group in Alkara is Orthodox Christianity and the main church in Alkara being the Alkaran Orthodox Church.